''Rousettus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of Old World fruit bats or

megabats Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the supe ...

, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

Mammal Species of the World - Browse: Rousettus
/ref> that range over most of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

to southeast

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, and the islands of the south

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. They are among the few megabats capable of echolocation, and the only genus of megabats known to use vocal echolocation.

Classification

Genus ''Rousettus'' – rousette fruit bats * Geoffroy's rousette, ''R. amplexicaudatus'' * Egyptian fruit bat or Egyptian rousette, ''R. aegyptiacus'' * Leschenault's rousette, ''R. leschenaulti'' * Linduan rousette, ''R. linduensis'' * Comoro rousette, ''R. obliviosus'' * Bare-backed rousette, ''R. spinalatus'' * Madagascan rousette, ''R. madagascariensis'' The species in the genera '' Boneia'', '' Stenonycteris'', and '' Pilonycteris'' were also formerly classified in ''Rousettus'', but phylogenetic analysis supports them being their own genera.

References

Bat genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{fruit-bat-stub